Electric typewriter with type mounted on flexible comb



G. HUGEL Nov. 21, 1967 ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER WITH TYPE MOUNTED ON FLEXIBLE COMB 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 11, 1966 INVENTOR Nov. 21, 1967 G. HUGEL ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER WITH TYPE MOUNTED ON FLEXIBLE COMB Filed May 11; 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR United States Patent 3,353,647 ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER WITH TYPE MOUNTE ON FLEXIBLE COMB Gerard Hugel, Mulllouse, Haut-Rhin, France, assignor t0 Etablissements Masson, Lyon, France, a French jointstock company Filed May 11, 1966, Ser. No. 549,418 Claims priority, appliciiiori ll rance, May 12, 1965,

s 6 Claims. (01. 197-18) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention concerns an electric typewriter of a very simplified conception from the point of view of construction, in particular allowing the manufacture of cheap, light, portable typewriters which can work from enclosed batteries or accumulators, and alternatively electric typewriters of the useful toy category.

The conventional type of typewriter includes a relatively heavy and complicated keyboard necessitating a long and careful assembly, each one of the 45 keys including a certain number of different components which must be assembled. This large number of different parts like wise necessitates a relatively extensive and costly tooling.

According to the present invention, the typewriter is composed of a casing, made for example of plastic, and including from being taken out of the mould all the keys forming the keyboard, these keys being carried on the ends of small flexible tongues attached to the casing and arranged in the form of two opposed combs. When these keys are lightly depressed, they press on the corresponding tongues of a counter-comb through which the deformations originating from the four parallel banks of keys are carried to a sector of a circumference, an area in which these deformations are liable to stop some positioning stems attached to a rotary circular comb which carries the characters to be struck. This circular character carrying comb is normally kept rotating by some device (a light friction motor) which allows instantaneous stopping as soon as one of the positioning stems is engaged by one of the blades of the counter-comb.

The invention will be better understood thanks to the following description and the attached drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 represents a general view from above the machine, showing in particular the tongues forming the keyboard and the circular character carrying comb.

FIGURE 2 is a section of the machine showing the counter-comb and the positioning stems of the circular comb, as well as the electromagnetic striking device.

FIGURE 3 shows in detail the shape of the countercomb which transforms the deformations imposed on the four parallel lines of keys into equivalent deformations disposed regularly in a circular area.

FIGURE 4 shows the section of this counter-comb.

In FIGURES l and 2 the casing 1 of the machine, with the seating 2 for the carriage, is shown. The keys 3 as well as the spacing bar 4 are arranged at the ends of the tongues 5 and 6, embedded in the casing in the shape of two combs facing each other along a division line AA These combs are made in one piece. On the underside of each of these tongues are some nipples 7 (some of which are indicated in FIGURE 1 by small crosses). These nipples 7, when the keys 3 are depressed, press on their side on the teeth of a counter-comb 8 (shown in detail in FIGURES 3 and 4) of which the curved ends 8 and 8a are spread around a circular sector with centre 9, for example in a quartencircle in the example shown. Around this centre 9 pivot the positioning stems 10, which are of very slightly differing lengths, and of which the tips are liable to be engaged and stopped by the ends 8 and 8a of one of the four series of blades of the counter comb 8. On the shaft which carries these stems 10 there is arranged a circular character-carrying comb 11, with the same number of blades as there are keys on the keyboard. Through the hollow shaft of this circular comb slides a stem 13 carrying a hammer 14 which is moved by an electromagnet 15 acting on an armature 16. The assembly of the circular comb 11 and the positioning stems 10 is normally kept rotating by means of, on the one hand, a small motor which is not shown, and on the other, a suitable lightfriction drive.

The working of the assembly is as follows:

When one of the keys 3 of the keyboard is slightly depressed, the corresponding nipple of the counter-comb 8, of which the tip engages and stops one of the four positioning-stems 10, stops the character-carrying comb 11 in the required position. The contact made between the stem 10 and the depressed blade of the counter comb 8, both metallic, closes an electric circuit feeding the electro-magnet 15, and instantaneously the hammer 14 strikes the corresponding character on the sheet of paper 17 borne by the carriage 18. As soon as the key is released, the counter-comb frees the positioning stem and the circular character-carrying comb instantaneously begins to rotate again until the next selection.

The characters 12 are inked for example continuously by means of a small roller of inking felt, not shown, but use could equally well be made of the conventional typewriter inking ribbon.

The forward movement of the carriage which slides in the cradle 2 is obtained by means of an escapement controlled by the same electro-magnet 15, or if needs be, by means of a second electro-magnet connected in series or in parallel with the first and placed in the immediate vicinity of the carriage.

The diameter of the circular character-carrying comb is chosen to be sufficiently large for there to be appreciable spaces between adjacent tongues so that easy reading of the characters just struck is possible by looking through the well-divided periphery of the rotating comb. There may even be provided under the circular comb a small electric bulb arranged so that the beam of light is directed on to the area of the sheet of paper which is being struck, which further improves the immediate reading of the letters and signs typed.

The keyboard in the form of a double opposed comb may naturally be moulded separately in nylon, or very springy plastic then mounted or stuck on a casing of absolutely any material of lower cost.

The counter-comb will be made for example by stamping from spring bronze or similar material, the curved tips intended to ensure the electrical contacts being preferably silver-coated, as are in addition the tips of the positioning-stems 10.

The circular character-carrying comb may be made either from nylon or similar material, or from cut-out spring bronze. The tips of the tongues may be provided with small and capital letters superposed, the selection being made by raising or lowering the carriage in the conventional way.

It must be understood that the preceding description concerns an example of design which is in no way restrictive, and that all variants are included in the present invention, so in particular, only certain of the characteristics of the present patent could be used in combination with other already known solutions. Similarly, the circular comb could be replaced by a cylinder or solid truncated cone carrying the characters, and the electro-magnetic strike obtained by swinging the shaft itself, which would in this case be linked to the positioning stems by a universal joint or even by a coil-spring with closed coils. If, on the other hand, it is desired to join together the small and capital letters, the change from one to the other may be made by sliding the character-carrying cylinder on its shaft, which for this purpose would be given a noncircular section, square, for example, this solution being possibly simpler and less costly than raising the carriage in the conventional way.

Finally, the invention applies to machines with a smaller number of keys, for example arranged on three banks only, or to stenotype and similar machines.

I claim:

1. A typewriter comprising control keys and a continuously rotating type-carrying member, said type-carrying member having radial arms, a stop member for each control key, each stop member being displaceable by its control key into the path of one of said radial arms so as to arrest the said arm and the type-carrying member so as to present a corresponding type on the type carrying member in printing position; each control key being disposed on one end of a resilient arm adapted to engage with and flex one of a series of counter resilient arms each of which carries a stop member for arresting engagement with one of said radial arms of said type-carrying member; and each of said radial arms being of dilTerent length for selective engagement by said stop members.

2. A typewriter as defined in claim 1, in which said type-carrying member is in the form of a disc having a series of radially disposed resilient tongues each of which carries a type, and a hammer is disposed for flexing the tongue at the printing position when the type carrying member is arrested.

3 A typewriter as defined in claim 2, in which said disc is mounted on a hollow shaft, a spindle extends slidable through said hollow shaft, said hammer being mounted on one end of said spindle and an armature on the other end of said spindle, and an electro-magnet adjacent said armature for displacing the latter and the spindle to cause said hammer to strike and deflect one of said type-carrying tongues.

4. A typewriter as defined in claim 3, in which the resilient arms carrying the control keys are in the form of two combs arranged with the free ends of the arms of one comb pointing toward those of the other comb, said counter resilient arms, carrying said stop members, comprises a comb disposed beneath the control keys, the tips of said counter-resilient arms being disposed in arcuate formation about the axis of rotation of the radial arms of said type-carrying member.

5. A typewriter as defined in claim 4, in which said counter resilient arms are arranged in groups of four, the arms of each group being of decreasing lengths whereby when deflected the stop member of each arm will lie in the path of one of said four radial arms of said type-carrying member.

6. A typewriter as defined in claim 5, comprising electrical contact members on each stop member for making contact with a radial arm of said type carrying member to cause energisation of said electro-magnet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 239,823 4/1881 McKittrick l9718 682,137 3/1901 Ferguson 19718 920,651 4/1909 Richards 19718 2,870,897 1/1959 Hubl 19718 3,181,679 5/1965 Stubbmann 1976.7 3,239,048 3/1966 Bogeaus 1976.7

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

E. S. BURR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TYPEWRITER COMPRISING CONTROL KEYS AND A CONTINUOUSLY ROTATING TYPE-CARRYING MEMBER, SAID TYPE-CARRYING MEMBER HAVING RADIAL ARMS, A STOP MEMBER FOR EACH CONTROL KEY, EACH STOP MEMBER BEING DISPLACEABLE BY ITS CONTROL KEY INTO THE PATH OF ONE OF SAID RADIAL ARMS SO AS TO ARREST THE SAID ARM AND THE TYPE-CARYING MEMBER SO AS TO PRESENT A CORRESPONDING TYPE ON THE TYPE CARRYING MEMBER IN PRINTING POSITION; EACH CONTROL KEY BEING DISPOSED ON ONE END OF A RESILIENT ARM ADAPTED TO ENGAGE WITH AND FLEX ONE OF A SERIES OF COUNTER RESILIENT ARMS EACH OF WHICH CARRIES A STOP MEMBER FOR ARRESTING ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE OF SAID RADIAL ARMS OF SAID TUPE-CARRYING MEMBER; AND EACH OF SAID RADIAL ARMS BEING OF DIFFERENT LENGTH FOR SELECTIVE ENGAGEMENT BY SAID STOP MEMBERS. 